Beverage preparation machines such as coffee or tea brewing machines are well known. It is known to provide beverage preparation machines which dispense individual servings of beverage directly into a receptacle such as a cup. Such machines may derive the beverage from a bulk supply of beverage ingredients or from packages of beverage ingredients such as pods, pads or cartridges. An example of one type of such packages is shown in EP1440903. In the following specification such packages will be referenced by the general term cartridges. However, the invention is not limited to use with one particular type of pod, pad or cartridge. The beverages are formed from brewing, mixing, dissolving or suspending the beverage ingredients in water. For example, for coffee beverages, heated water is passed through the cartridges to form the extracted solution. The use of cartridges in such machines has become increasingly popular due to their convenience and the quality of the beverage produced.
In general, during use of such cartridges an inlet and an outlet are formed in the cartridge to allow for water entry and beverage discharge. Typically, the inlet and outlet are formed by piercing elements wherein either the cartridge or the piercing elements are moved in order to pierce the inlet and outlet. Beverage machines are know which use a carriage or platform which carries the cartridge and moves the cartridge relative to fixed piercing elements. It is also known to provide a vertically movable piercing element for piercing the inlet in a stationary cartridge. However, the piercing mechanisms of such machines tend to be bulky leading to the overall size of the machine being large.